When Fool\’s Game (1989) came out I got the idea that something special was brewing in the Bay Area. The pure thrash, influenced by their San Franciscan peers and fellow lunatics, was infused with a dash of funk. That initial gut feeling stated to grow after In This Life (1991) was released. By then I was almost religiously convinced that Mordred were destined to become legendary. A band that could grow to a Faith No More or even Red Hot Chili Peppers-like stature.

Fate played a few cruel tricks on the band though, and shortly after The Next Room (1994), which was recorded without original singer Scott Holderby, everything collapsed and the band disbanded. Not counting a few short-lived reunions, the band got back together with the amazing In This Life line up in 2013 and almost immediately started working on new songs, one of which Baroness has been floating around for w while now.

Volition is a four song calling card to wet your appetite for things to come. Not For You has the perfect Mordred vibe. Everything I want from the band, the thrash, funk, hip hop and message. What We Are Coming To is a pure hip hop track. Cold, hard-hitting with an eerie undercurrent. Not entirely my cup of tea, but well executed, and it allows DJ Pause to occupy the well-deserved spotlight. Love Of Money hits like a Mordred song should; the riffs, the scratches and Scott delivering some of his best vocal work ever. Baroness is already an old friend, kicking off like a classic metal song it quickly develops into yet another gem of a Mordred song. Essential.  Martijn Welzen

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